


The Life of Scoundrels

by DefenderoftheDogma



Category: Star Wars Rebels, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, disintegrations WILL become part of your rep, never trust a pirate, never trust a smuggler, we all need something better than the solo story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 5,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DefenderoftheDogma/pseuds/DefenderoftheDogma
Summary: Ever wonder how exactly Han won the Millennium Falcon (The Empire Strikes Back)? What made him lose Jabba's cargo in A New Hope? And what exactly is it with Bobba and disintegrations (The Empire Strikes Back)? The mysteries of Star Wars... revealed. A story that binds together the loose ends of Star wars you never knew existed. Better than the Solo film.





	1. A 'Short' Detour

"Rwaarrrr!" a frustrated Chewbacca exclaimed.

"I know it's taking forever, ol' pal" Han Solo replied, "but this is as fast as this old rust-bucket will go."

The Bria was Solo's first ship, and although he and Chewy complained about it all the time, they really did like the Starmite-class freighter. Together, they'd been through a lot, and that meant something. Of course not enough that he didn't still want something newer and faster, but at least it meant something.

"Wrar?" questioned Chewy.

"What, you want to stop here? We're already behind schedule delivering Jabba's cargo. Why should we stop?"

"Rwar"

"Thanks. I'd forgotten that big Sabacc tournament this weekend. I guess we could make a short detour."

Solo made a slight course correction to bring them into orbit around the planet they were about to pass by. Bespin wasn't anything amazing, and usually didn't even make it onto the Empire Star Charts. But it did have one thing going for it, and that was the best Sabacc tournament anywhere in the outer rim. And Solo happened to have spent far too much of his time developing the skills to be quite good at Sabacc.

After a short trip through the atmosphere, they had nice smooth landing. One benefit of having a ship that slow was that it made it easy to have nice smooth landings. The downside was that even with the nice smooth landings, there were almost always repairs that needed to be made, after just about any journey in space.

"You take care of the ship, while I check in." instructed Solo. "Then meet me at the tourney."


	2. The Sabaacc Tournament

**Chapter 2**

Solo arrived just in time for the Annual Interplanetary Sabacc Championship. With such a prestigious name, one would imagine a much more impressive location than the smoke filled room Solo walked into. But he was used to working in such places, and barely even noticed.

His first few rounds went quickly and without much interest. There was the usual mix of players. There were the rich business types, who had money to waste and the complete lack of skill to help them waste it quickly. There were the hot shot teens, who thought they had the game all figured out, and were always surprised when their brilliant strategies ended up with all their chips on the opposite side of the table. There were even a few of those sad types who were there purely out of desperation because they had no hope of a good life unless they could win big through some miracle. But those miracles didn't come, and they went home like everyone else.

The final round was down to a table of four. Solo came to the table with the biggest pot. Next was a guy named Hondo Ohnaka. Solo hadn't met a Weequay before, so he didn't know if Ohnaka extreme sense of relaxation at such a high stakes game was just due to his species or was unique to him. But he was pretty certain that the turtle shell hat and goggles that he was wearing were not a fashion statement that would be taking off anytime soon.

The third contestant was Lando Calrissian, who was the local favorite. He also had been a smuggler for many years, and Solo had a lot of respect for him. He hoped that Calrissian wasn't as good at Sabacc as he was as smuggling. The final contestant was one of those rich types with way more money than skill, and who really shouldn't have made it to the final table to begin with. But apparently the cards had just been kind to him the whole tournament so far.

But that all changed at the championship table. Suddenly the cards were all in Calrissian's favor. It wasn't long before the tycoon was out of chips. After his final play, he rose from his chair and started yelling his head off at Calrissian, who of course just coolly ignored him. This obviously just made him angrier.

"You're nothing but a stinking pile of slime!" he yelled as he cuffed Calrissian in the face hard enough to knock him out of his chair. This led to a short scuffle between the two, with both of them landing a few punches, but neither doing any serious damage. Quickly the bouncers had things under control and "politely" escorted the tycoon out the door.

But he wasn't alone, Solo and Ohnaka were losing chips fast as well. But Solo had a keen eye, and had noticed that whenever the betting was getting high that Calrissian got thirsty. This was a common situation among gamblers, and wouldn't normally draw attention, but with careful observation, Solo noticed that the service droid was being subtle and slipping him a card with the drink. He pointed it out to Chewy without anyone else noticing, and during the scuffle, he motioned for Chewy to make a couple minor re wirings to the service droid while everyone else was focused on watching the fight.

As soon as there was another big pile of chips starting to build, Solo knew that it was time to make his move. Ohnaka and he would be out of the game soon and he had to make his move before Calrissian discovered that his plan was thwarted.

"If you're gonna bet a planet, then bet the galaxy." Solo said with just the right amount of false confidence in his voice. "That's what my ol' man used to say. So I'm tossing' in all my chips AND throwin' in a marker for my spaceship on top of it."

Hondo was just as relaxed as ever. "Well, never draw first, but always draw bigger. So I'll toss in all my chips and a marker for my spaceship as well."

Calrissian couldn't have been more pleased. Now he could finish them both off at once, and gain a couple extra ships for his used ship lot that he had been running recently.

"Well if you gentlemen have your hearts set on a speedy finish to our time together, then I will certainly be glad to oblige you." Calrissian said grandly. At this point he had more chips than either of his opponents, so he was able to match their number of chips and still have a small pile leftover. Despite his bravado, there was a little hesitancy as he was tossing in his marker for this spaceship.

But after all, Lando was sure he would win with the help of his cheating droid. Han was sure he would win because he trusted Chewy's reprogramming. Hondo wasn't sure he would win at all, but he knew that his ship was the smallest of the three, so he had the least to lose from this particular plot. And he always did have a backup plan anyway.


	3. Easy Come Easy Go

**Chapter 3**

The look on Calrissian's face when he received his special card from the droid was absolutely priceless, except that all the price really was, was all the chips on the table and three spaceships. When all the cards were down, Solo was victorious. Calrissian knew that he must have done something to his droid, but he couldn't really say anything about it without admitting that he'd been cheating all along. And if he did that, Ohnaka might kill him. So he chose to be gracious.

"Congratulations, you old' scoundrel!" Calrissian declared loudly as he rose from his chair and offered a handshake. When Solo grabbed his hand to shake it, Calrissian held on and lifted it high in the air. Then he turned Solo around to face the crowd behind them, which began to cheer wildly. The response was so great that Calrissian and Solo walked a little bit around the room with hands held high to much cheering and clapping. But when they returned to the table to collect their chips, they were surprised to find that a good many of them were missing. All the ones that Calrissian had left were gone, as were a good chunk of the ones that Solo had just won.

"Where did that little Weequay go?" asked Solo.

"Yeah, who saw where he went?" Calrissian echoed.

A Twi'lek near the table quietly offered. "The other gentlemen at the table said something about needing to go to the bathroom."

Calrissian immediately ran to the bathroom. Solo grabbed all of the chips left on the table first, and then ran to join him.

"I already searched. He's not here." said Calrissian with disappointment in his voice. "I did find the window open. He probably slipped out with our money through there."

"How do I know he wasn't working with you and this isn't all some scheme of yours?"

"Look, he may have taken some chips from your pile, but he took all the chips I had left" Calrissian defended. "He basically gave you the win in the tournament and took away my only chance to win my ship back. If he was working for anyone, it would be you!"

"Alright. I guess we've both been had" conceded Solo. "Well let's at least see if we can find the little creep and get our money back. Anyway, he owes me a ship."

Han cashed out his chips, owner apologized for the behavior of Ohnaka and even informed him that Ohnaka would be banned forever from the tournament. But he regretted to inform Solo that was the extent of what he could do. It would be up to Solo and Calrissian to find the Weequay on their own.


	4. A New Friend

**Chapter 4**

They searched high and low for Ohnaka, but couldn't find him anywhere. At the end of the day, the tired twosome made their way back to the cantina for a nice cold Photon Fizzle to console each other about their losses.

"You know, you're a good chap, Calrissian, and I feel badly about you losing everything today" started Solo. "How about if I loan you my old ship to use while you get back on your feet?"

"That's very generous, but are you sure?" questioned Calrissian.

"Sure I am! I can't very well fly two ships at once anyway, and the Bria will serve you well. She's not the newest ship in the fleet, but she's gotten me through some rough scrapes before."

"Well thanks ol' pal" Calrissian replied gratefully. "I'll just unload my cargo from the Millennium Falcon and then turn her over to you. Take good care of her. I've made quite a few modifications, and she's the fastest hunka-junk in the galaxy."

"Chewy and I will go unload our cargo from the Bria, and then we'll make the switch".

After they finished loading their cargo into the Millennium Falcon, Solo spoke up, "Well what do you think Pal? We came here for a quick detour and we're going away with a bucket load of credits and in an amazingly newer, bigger, faster ship. I'd call that well worth our time."

"Raaar"

"Are you kidding?" responded Solo. "With this ship's speed we'll more than make up the lost time, and we'll be able to make our delivery early."

"Rwarrrrr"

"Alright, alright. Hit the thrusters, it's time for us to say goodbye to Bespin.

Meanwhile, as the Falcon rose toward orbit, Calrissian finished loading his cargo onto his loaner ship, and he was feeling much less happy about his situation. So he decided he should go back to the Sabacc tables and try to make up for some of his losses. Thankfully for him, he was able to do just that, later that night. Some wealthy businessman who owned a spice mine there on Bespin came into the place, and unwisely joined a game with the scoundrel. The droid had been repaired, and it was only a matter of time before Calrissian had another small business to his name.


	5. Caught in a Trap

**Chapter 5**

The main difference between Solo, Calrissian, and Ohnaka was that the first two were smugglers and the last was a space pirate. Despite some common skills between them, smugglers were primarily focused on moving things secretly and keeping them secret. Pirates are primarily focused on taking stealing whatever they can, including secrets, and profiting from them.

Therefore, Calrissian had no idea that the cargo that Solo was moving was actually spice belonging to Jabba the Hutt. And Solo had no idea that the "cargo" that Calrissian was transporting was actually a group of force-sensitives who were trying to escape the clutches of the Empire.

Ever since Order 66 had gone out a decade ago, the Empire had been hunting down and eliminating any remaining Jedi or force-sensitives. The latter weren't trained as Jedi of course, but even the potential in them was considered dangerous and criminal.

But since Ohnaka was a pirate, he had not only stolen much of the winnings from the Sabacc Tournament, but also had been the only person at the table who had known the cargo of both of the smugglers. And he already had a plan to profit from that knowledge as well. This is because he also knew that the Empire had already heard about the force-sensitives and was sending a Star Destroyer to the planet to process them.

Although Solo had no knowledge about the Star Destroyer, he soon found out. As soon as he got back into orbit around the planet, the Star Destroyer was already there waiting for the Millennium Falcon. It fired before he was even able to activate the deflector shields.

"What in blue blazes is that?" exclaimed Solo. "I just got this ship, and you're already crashing it into something.

"Rwaaaar" Chewy said defensively.

"Well if you didn't hit anything, then what hit us?" asked Solo. "And why is that Star Destroyer coming towards us?"

Just then another laser blast shot past on the starboard side.

"What are they shooting at us for? Well I don't want really want to find out. Let's get outa here."

Solo and Chewy both started pushing buttons, but that first hit had fried the hyperdrive. So despite some pretty fancy flying and expert maneuvers, the outcome was already assured. Before long, the Star Destroyer was in range and locked on to the Falcon with its tractor beam. As the ship suddenly jolts from the change in momentum, Ohnaka knows that it is the perfect time to make his next move.

Ohnaka steps out of his hiding place in the secret compartments beneath the floor of the Millennium Falcon (where he'd observed the force-sensitives leaving when Calrissian came to get them out to transfer ships).


	6. A Plan to Escape

**Chapter 6**

"I'll be boggled" exclaimed Solo when he first saw the Weequay. "Well, look what the Nexu dragged in, Chewy."

"Rrrrrrrr"

"I demand to know where you've been and what you're doing on my ship."

"Oh, have you been looking for little ol' me?" asked Ohnaka innocently.

"Do garrels have freckles?" answered Solo. "Of course I was looking for you. You owe me a lot of money and a ship!"

"My dear ol' mum always taught me that if you're trying to get away from someone, then get as close to them as possible, because they'll never look there" explained Ohnaka.

"That expression is nothing but Bantha fodder" critiqued Solo, "because I've got you now."

"My understanding is that Star Destroyer has us both" contradicted Ohnaka. "And rather than bicker among ourselves and spend the rest of our lives in the Imperial Prison on Kessel, I propose a deal."

"Rwaaaar" interrupted Chewy.

"Blast it Chewy, he has a point" said Solo. "Let's at least hear what he's got to say."

"Here's my proposal" began Ohnaka. "If you will forgive my debts from the Sabacc Tournament, then I will save your lives by taking the cargo you are smuggling onto my ship."

"Just what ship are you talking about?" Solo asks.

Ohnaka explains, "My ship is small but it has a cloaking device and is actually attached to the Falcon itself with a magnetic seal."

Solo thinks to himself that is actually really a brilliant idea, and he just might have to use that someday.

Meanwhile, Ohnaka continues, "And while the Falcon is stuck in the transporter beam, my ship could detach from the hull and escape. That way when the Star Destroyer searches the Falcon, they won't find anything, and will have no grounds to imprison either you or Chewy."

Of course Ohnaka knows that the Empire is really after the force-sensitives back on the planet and don't really care about Jabba's spice. But Solo doesn't know that and assumes that this is his only way out of a tough situation.

"So what do you think, Chewy?"

"Rwwaar?" questioned Chewy.

"Of course I don't trust him. He's as slippery as a greased Dug" answered Solo. "But right now he's our only hope. And we don't have much time before the tractor beam finishes pulling us inside. Then we'll be boarded, searched, and busted."

"Rwarrrrr."

"Alright Ohnaka, we'll take your deal" Solo said reluctantly. "Chewy go help him load the spice into his ship, while I try to talk our way out of this. I'll try to explain that we have nothing to hide and that we just ran because they shot at us."

Once the spice is loaded onto Ohnaka ship and he is ready to leave, Ohnaka shows Solo where the secret compartments are on the Falcon. Then he detaches from the hull.

But once Ohnaka ship was free of the Falcon, he opened communication channels with the Star Destroyer.


	7. Things get Complicated

**Chapter 7**

"This is Captain Piett of the Imperial Star Destroyer 517 to unidentified vessel. Please identify yourself immediately and state your purpose in this sector."

"Good evening Captain Piett. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Ohnaka, and my purpose in this sector isn't nearly as interesting as yours is" began Ohnaka. "I've heard that you guys are searching for some runaway Force-Sensitives, and I assume that is why you are presently pulling in that cargo ship. Of course you won't find what you're looking for."

"And why won't we?" asked Piett.

"Because that ship is just a dead end to waste your time. The pilot transporting those Force-Sensitives switched ships and is still back at the planet. But don't take my word for it. Go ahead and search the ship." Ohnaka answered. "When you find out I'm right, meet me back at the planet and for the right price, I'll help you find the pilot that you really want."

Then Ohnaka takes off to head to the planet first. The Star Destroyer finishes pulling in the Falcon, and a squad goes over to do a search. Of course they don't find anything, and after making Solo and Chewy answer a few questions, Captain Piett decides to let them go.

"That sure was a close one Chewy. But in the end, we're free to go where we please and live another day" Solo said relieved.

"Rawwar?" questioned Chewy.

"Well of course I meant AFTER we fix the hyperdrive we can go wherever we want" answered Solo. "I'm sure you'll be able to get it working at least temporarily. It might not work consistently, but I'm sure we'll get it all the way fixed later. And what's the chances that ever causes us a real problem?"

"Rwaaaar."


	8. A New Deal

**Chapter 8**

Meanwhile, Ohnaka has landed back on the planet and went to find Calrissian. As expected he had returned to the same place and had been playing Sabacc again to try to regain some of his losses from the tournament. With the service droid "repaired", he was on another winning streak. By the time Ohnaka arrived, Calrissian had just relieved a rich tourist from the burden of running his small mining operation in Cloud City, and was feeling very pleased with himself. But when he saw Ohnaka, his mood changed quickly.

"You got a lotta nerve coming' back here after that stunt you pulled" said Calrissian, as he shoved Ohnaka into a back booth. "You cost me my shot at winning the tournament, and you owe me for all the chips that I had left."

"Look I came back to save your life, not to quibble about small change" Ohnaka responded annoyingly calmly. "I was leaving the planet and saw an Imperial Star Destroyer catch the Millennium Falcon in a tractor beam and pull it in. I monitored their communications, and they were looking for those Force-Sensitives that you're smuggling. Solo spilled the beans about switching ships with you so now you've got a Star Destroyer in orbit looking for you, the Bria, and your precious Force-Sensitives."

"OK, so you warned me. But I still want my money" demanded Calrissian.

"I've got a better deal in mind" replied Ohnaka. "If you'll forgive my Sabacc debts, then I'll trade ships with you. My ship is too small to carry those Force-Sensitives, but it does have a cloaking device. Which means that you'll be able to actually get off this planet undetected and go wherever you want. Even if they do catch you, there won't be anything on board for them to charge you for."

"But what about my 'cargo'?" asked Calrissian.

"Even though it is at great personal risk…" continued Ohnaka, "I will take your 'cargo' and attempt to deliver them for you to somewhere safe."

Calrissian quickly thought it over, and did the math. There was no way that he'd be able to get away from an Imperial Star Destroyer with that rust-bucket Bria that Solo was loaning him. So it made sense to dump the dangerous cargo and the ship that the Star Destroyer was looking for. Reluctantly Calrissian agreed to Ohnaka proposal. Ohnaka then leads Calrissian to his cloaked ship, where he had already removed the spice that he had obtained from Solo.

"These are the controls to the cloaking device" Ohnaka explained. "But don't take off for another hour to give it time to renew itself fully from when I used it last."

"Thanks again for warning me and giving me a way to escape" said Calrissian.

"Consider us even" replied Ohnaka before taking his leave. After all, he only had one hour to load his spice onto the Bria and get into orbit at just the right time to continue his plan. The Bria was packed pretty tightly at this point but the Force-Sensitives didn't complain. They seemed to sense that there was some danger, and just decided to keep quiet.


	9. Special Delivery

**Chapter 10**

The first decision was difficult because there were so many choices. At this point there was high demand for spice on just about any planet in the galaxy. The second decision was hard for the opposite reason. Almost no place in the galaxy was safe for the force-sensitives to go. In the end he decided to take care of the spice first. After all he didn't like carrying around too much dangerous cargo at the same time, and especially in a rust-bucket like the Bria.

So he decided to take his mother's advice again. If the Empire was looking for this contraband so much, then there would be no better place to head toward than the capital planet of Coruscant, right in the middle of the galaxy. It was right along the main trade route, and no one would expect someone who was smuggling illegal cargo to actually go towards the heart of the Empire. Again, his gamble paid off and he was able to slowly make his journey all the way there without any problems at all. Once there the negotiations also went smoothly and he left Coruscant a much richer pirate, and with one of his problems taken care of as well.

Even better news was that while on the planet, he had heard some rumors of a planet called Ilium which was in-between "Wild Space" and the "Unknown Regions". It was covered with ice caves, and would be the perfect place for people to hide that didn't want to be found by the Empire or anyone else. Supposedly it had even been used by the Jedi long ago for something or other, but he hadn't been able to hear any more of the rumor.

So after leaving Coruscant he started the long journey toward the Outer Rim to finish the last part of his schemes. What he didn't know was that some of the spice he had just sold on Coruscant had fallen into the hands of some people who were able to trace it back to its origin on Tatooine. The rumor had quickly spread back to Jabba the Hutt, who had quickly dispatched his favorite Bounty Hunter, Boba Fett to investigate. Fett's ship, Slave-1, was also one of the fastest small ships in the galaxy. So not only was Fett able to get to Coruscant quickly and confirm that the spice was indeed Jabba's, but he also was able to discover that the seller had been heading to Ilum next. After confirming commands from Jabba, he boarded Slave-1 again and set course for Ilum.

Although Slave-1 was much faster, Ohnaka had too much of a head start. So he arrived at Ilum first and was able to land there undetected and drop off the force-sensitives at the entrance of a labyrinth of caves. He suggested that they not stay there for long at all, but to immediately begin moving to some other location within the caves so that they would be less likely to be found even if Imperial forces ever came looking there. They were grateful for his help in getting them there safely, and he was grateful for their generous payment. With that plus the profit from the spice, and the money the Empire had transferred to his account, he now had more money than he had ever dreamed.

Just when he thought it would all be smooth sailing, he returns the Bria to orbit and finds both Slave-1 and an Imperial Star Destroyer waiting for him. He recognizes Slave-1 as the ship of Boba Fett. After all, Fett was both famous and feared throughout the galaxy. But what people could never figure out was whether he loved money or hated Jedi more. At his prices, most people suspected the former, but Ohnaka had a sneaking suspicion that it was the other way around. And he was willing to take a risk to find out.


	10. Out of the Blue

**Chapter 11**

He opened the communication with the bigger ship first.

"This is Captain Tarkin of the Imperial Star Destroyer 329 to unidentified vessel. Please identify yourself immediately and state your purpose in this sector."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Captain. My name is Ohnaka and this is my cargo ship, the Bria"

"This sector is off-limits for normal trade without official permission" Tarkin responded. "Please state your license and registration."

Naturally Ohnaka didn't have any of this necessary paperwork, but he had a plan.

"You and I both know that trading without a license is a minor infraction that is hardly worth your time" began Ohnaka. "But if you were to capture that runaway Force-Sensitives rumored to be on the planet below, now that would be quite a feather in your cap."

"I have heard no such rumor" replied Tarkin.

"Well I have it on good authority and in fact even have the location where they were last seen" continued Ohnaka. "And to top it off, I have brought one of the galaxy's best bounty hunters to help track them down."

Of course Ohnaka had done no such thing, but he figured that Tarkin wouldn't know why Boba Fett was here and that Ohnaka could convince Fett to go along with the plan.

"So what does all this have to do with your license or registration?" asked Tarkin.

"Well if you would be willing to let me go and overlook this little oversight, then I'll have the bounty hunter turn the Force-Sensitives directly over to you at a price you name" answered Ohnaka. "That way you get a much bigger prize at a bargain price. I'm sure I don't need to tell you just what a positive effect it would have on your standing with the Emperor if you found these runaway Force-Sensitives."

Tarkin doesn't have to think it over for very long. He can't resist the opportunity for career advancement. In comparison, busting a license violation does feel like a waste of his valuable time.

"Very well Ohnaka. I accept your proposal, and will pay your bounty hunter 1000 credits per Force-Sensitive."

Ohnaka knew the price would be low, but he was counting on Fett's hatred of the Jedi to make him willing to do it. But would his gamble pay off?


	11. High Stakes

**Chapter 12**

Next he turned on his communication channel to Slave-1.

"You sold Jabba's cargo, which means you stole Jabba's cargo" threatened Boba Fett. "I have been sent to bring you to Jabba."

"This is all just a big misunderstanding. You must be talking about the spice I just sold on Coruscant. But I didn't steal that. I bought it from a trader named Han Solo. Didn't he give the money back to this Jabba guy?" asked Ohnaka innocently. "Besides who cares about a few crates of spice when there are Force-Sensitives to be found?"

"What?" Fett was curious now.

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. I got a lead on a group of runaway Force-Sensitives who are hiding on the planet below. The Captain of the Star Destroyer is going to pay me 1000 credits apiece to find them" Ohnaka continued. "It's probably not as much as you're used to getting paid, but I'll offer you a deal. If you'll clear up this misunderstanding with Jabba, then I'll give you my info on where they were last seen on the planet. Then you can find them and collect the bounty money from the Empire instead of me."

Fett is silent for a tense moment while he considers the low amount of money and the opportunity to capture "Jedi-Wannabes".

"Alright, send me your information" Fett said impatiently.

"It's on it's way over now" replied Ohnaka.

Slave-1 descends quickly to the planet. Ohnaka checks back in with Captain Tarkin to let him know that Fett is already on the job, and will return to him shortly. Ohnaka is given permission to leave the sector and loses no time in doing so. He has impressed even himself with his cunning and newfound riches.

Meanwhile Captain Tarkin waits in orbit and works on his application for a big promotion to oversee the construction of the Emperor's new battle station called the Death Star. It should be a cushy job, and he's heard that the upper ranks often have very quick advancement there.

Fett searched long and hard for the "Jedi-Wannabes", but never found more than a few of their belongings that they had left behind, including a very unique piece of jewelry with a blue crystal in it. Fett recognized it as the type of crystal that Jedi used to power their lightsabers. When he returned to orbit, he reported to Tarkin again. Of course he couldn't admit the truth, so he lied and said that he had found a group of a dozen force-sensitives, but had been forced to disintegrate them. He handed over their personal belongings including the crystal jewelry as proof.

Captain Tarkin is convinced enough to pay him his bounty, but warns him that he will send down a squad to search the planet as well just to be sure. And if they find any force-sensitives still alive there, then he will find Boba Fett and make him pay double in addition to revoking his bounty hunter license. Boba agrees and heads back on the long journey to Tatooine to tell Jabba about Han Solo losing his cargo.


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue:**

Han Solo thought he'd gotten away home free. He now had a ship that was bigger, faster, and had secret hidden compartments that would be really useful with his smuggling business. Sure he'd lost Jabba's spice cargo, but he was sure that wouldn't come back to bother him. He was hoping Jabba would be a forgiving kinda guy, and besides, he was sure his next job would make enough money to repay the slug anyway.

Lando Calrissian thought he'd gotten away home free. He now had a cloaked ship, so how could anyone follow him anymore. And not that he was the Regional Governor of Cloud City, he would be able to do whatever he wanted for the rest of his life. No more having people tell him what to do, and no more having to look over his shoulder.

Boba Fett thought he'd gotten away home free. Sure he hadn't been able to kill all those "Jedi-Wannabes" like he'd hoped. But the Empire would never find them in all those caves either. So his story about disintegrating them would never be questioned. He still got his money, and it's not like that whole disintegration thing would ever become a lasting part of his reputation.

Finally, Hondo Ohnaka thought he'd gotten away home free. He had more money than even he could spend. He decided to settle down on a small peaceful planet called Alderaan. He bought a huge mansion, hired many servants, and spent his days living in luxury. He was sure his little planet was far enough out of the way that he'd get to enjoy a nice long retirement. Then one day he noticed there was an extra moon in the sky.


End file.
